Have Faith in Me
by Kay Gryffin
Summary: Just a one-shot about Hinata's initiation into ANBU ops. This is supplement to my story, Of Strength. Read THAT before reading THIS, it'll make so much more sense.


Have Faith in Me

**Okay. So. This is NOT a stand-alone story. This is a supplement to my ongoing story, ****Of Strength****, which is a KankuroxHinata fic. To understand the plot of this supplement fully, I strongly suggest that you go, read that story, and then come back and read this. I mean, it could stand alone, but it would be less odd and confusing if you were to go over to ****Of Strength**** and read that, because I make a LOT of references. **

**That being said, the two main characters of this fanfic are Kakashi and Hinata. I'm not pairing them together, I'm just simply expanding on a topic I barely touched upon in ****OS****. It was a story that came to mind due to the fact that I can't figure out how to write the next chapter of the main story. Sorry! I'll update as soon as I figure out how to write down my convoluted chapter ideas. And this is rated M, as well, mostly because I'm paranoid and I don't want anybody to flame me about the inappropriateness about my opening to this story. It's probably just a T, but I don't want any trouble, so... **

**So, enjoy this LONG one-shot. Read&Review? :D**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto. **

* * *

Hinata looked up at the ceiling of her bedroom, unable to even think about sleeping when face with the monumental task she had to do. Kankurō's arm was still around her waist, and he had his head on the crook of her neck, quietly sleeping on her skin. She loved the fact that Kankurō was so unfazed by nudity and intimacy, and she also loved the seemingly innocent face Kankurō took on when sleeping. It made her think that he wasn't the emotionally and physically damaged son of the late Fourth Kazekage. No, it made him into just _Kankurō, _a boy untouched by the horrors of the world.

She wanted to spend a thousand moons with that sort of face besides her. But the life she had chosen made it impossible to have that kind of life, she'd realized. She sighed at the thought. Yes, it was true. The life she led made that kind of life impossible. She shook her lover awake, softly kissing his lips as he woke up. "Hey. Get up."

"Mm, I can get used to wakin' up like this," he murmured as he kissed her back. "What time is it, Hina-chan?"

"Time for you to go," she whispered, "I don't want Otousan finding you in here… he wouldn't like it very much to see me naked in bed with some boy." She softened the blow with a smile, but it didn't stop Kankurō's pout. "Though you are so much more than _some boy_, Kurō-koi…"

"Damned straight," he grumbled, making her giggle softly. He smirked and kissed her nose softly, pulling the covers off of himself and getting out of the bed, scratching his abdomen as he pulled on his clothes slowly, obviously giving Hinata time to ogle. She blushed and pulled the blankets over her head, hearing him chuckle at her nervousness. She knew that he knew fully well that she was still slightly timid in sexuality, despite her forwardness in their encounters. It was mostly afterwards that her timidity and nervousness came to the forefront.

"Jerk," she murmured.

"Love you, too, Hina-chan," said Kankurō softly, pulling the blanket off of Hinata's head, kissing her forehead and running his fingers through her long hair. She didn't know how it was possible for him to dress so quickly, and it was definitely disappointing to see him with a shirt on. She pouted, running her hands underneath his shirt and stroking his chest and stomach, reveling in the feeling of him underneath her fingertips. He let out a soft groan. "Hina, do you wanna go at it again?" he asked in a husky voice.

"Umm, don't be perverted!" she cried out, laughing and pulling her hands away. She pushed at his shoulders softly. "Now go, before you get caught and probably murdered by my father, Kō, Neji, or all three of them!"

Kankurō laughed softly again, wrapping his arms around Hinata's lithe frame. He kissed her again, this time managing to slip his tongue into the kiss. She moaned out softly, kissing him back with as much passion as he did to her. Reluctantly, they both pulled away, breathing slightly heavier than it had been just moments before. He stroked her cheek and kissed her once more before letting go, a soft smile on his lips. "Good night, love," he whispered.

She swallowed back tears from him calling her _love. _"Good night," she said softly, giving him a half-hearted wave. _I really don't deserve to be called that, _she thought as Kankurō slipped out of her window. She looked down at the blanket. _I really don't. _

She forced herself out of bed, folding her fallen clothing items and placing them in the hamper. She had no idea why she did that—probably one of her mother's countless lessons on neatness—but she always did, and she didn't want to stop doing it. She then pulled out a pair of her ANBU pants and an ANBU shirt, pulling them on. Those clothes made her feel safe. Somehow, when she wore them, she wasn't insecure about herself. Especially when she clicked into place the form-fitting armored vest. She breathed out in relief.

She remembered when she'd gotten the items. She had been with Kakashi on a mission, trying to retrieve a scroll stolen from a diplomat in the Land of Fire from a bunch of thieves in Kumogakure. The trip had taken them two extremely long and boring weeks, as there was absolutely nothing to do until they found the thieves.

"Kakashi-sempai," she said when they'd made camp for the night. Kakashi continued to stab at the fire with a stick, trying to make it grow larger. He hardly acknowledged her. She sighed to herself. Kakashi had been pulling the silent routine with her for weeks, and she didn't know why. It was bothering her how Kakashi could remain completely silent around her. She didn't need conversation, per say, but she had grown to love talking inanely with the silver-haired Jōnin. "Kakashi, why are you so quiet?" she asked.

He continued to ignore her. She sighed. Every night, she asked the same question. And every night, she got the same response, which was absolutely nothing. Why did she keep trying?

She wrapped her arms around her legs, shivering against the cold air. The wind picked up slightly, making her hair whip around her face. She winced. Her hair almost felt like it was cutting at her skin. She nearly regretted her idea to let it grow long, but the idea of continuously grooming it to keep it at the length it had been at seemed tedious and almost made the hand she used to cut it with sore. Her hair was a little bit beyond her shoulders now, and she loved to play with it sometimes. It was amazing.

She stood up, not bothering to tell her teacher where she was going, which was to the shared tent. She lay down on her side, getting into a fetal position and wrapping her arms around her shins once more, pressing her lips against her knee caps. _It's so cold tonight, _she thought with a shiver, _unseasonably cold. _

"Get up." Kakashi's voice sounded so cold. She was confused; why was he talking to her as soon as she resigned herself to sleep. She sat up, surprised to see the silver-haired male crouching over her. She hadn't heard anything, though she knew she shouldn't have expected to at all. There was a reason Kakashi was one of the most feared shinobi in Konohagakure.

"Why?" she asked.

"Get up," he repeated, getting back out of the tent. It irritated Hinata to no end to be ordered around by Kakashi when he was so giving her 'the silent treatment'. _I wish he would stop dicking around and just come out and say what he's so mad at me about, _she thought crossly, forcing herself up and out of the tent.

"Attack me," he ordered immediately.

She stopped moving immediately. "W-What?" she stuttered out, surprised by Kakashi's words. _Attack him… what? _

"Attack me," he repeated, pushing his Leaf headband off of his left eye, revealing the Sharingan to her. "Right now. Attack me with everything you have."

"No," she said, shaking her head. "You're my teacher, Kakashi-sempai… why would I attack you?"

"You sound like a moron," said Kakashi crossly, "Attack me because I say so, Hyūga. It's a direct order. If you cannot adhere to direct orders, then what business do you have being a shinobi?" He crossed his arms over his chest. "What business do you have trying to get into ANBU?" Hinata's eyes widened. She hadn't even told Kakashi about that! She wasn't going to! She had been promised full confidentiality when she had been offered by Tsunade to become an ANBU operative.

"I-I," she stuttered, looking down at her feet before looking back up at her teacher. Now was not the time to be nervous, especially when Kakashi was obviously pissed at her enough to want to kick the crap out of her. "How do you know about that?"

"Sasuke was not the only person in Konoha with girls falling at his feet," said Kakashi, rolling his eyes at Hinata's naivety. Hinata gritted her jaw, annoyed by Kakashi's arrogant tone. "I have my own fan girls. Shizune told me. Just what the hell do you think you're doing, Hinata? ANBU is more dangerous than you realize!"

"I know, you've told me, Kakashi!" she said, hating the underestimation on Kakashi's part. "I'm not a moron, Kakashi! I know the risks of joining ANBU… but I want to! Not every shinobi gets offered positions in ANBU; it's an honor… you should be happy for me. It's a testament to how hard I've worked, and how much good you've done me." She swallowed. "Besides, all I've done is taken the aptitude test. There's absolutely no guarantee that I'm actually in ANBU."

"It doesn't matter, Hinata," growled Kakashi, "What you've done is idiotic and dangerous."

"Taking a test is idiotic and dangerous nowadays? Gosh, I didn't know taking a written exam is so dangerous," she said sarcastically, unable to keep back how irritated she was growing with Kakashi. "I would've thought you would be happy for me, Kakashi. After all, you, yourself, told me that you were giving me ANBU-leveled training. You trained me for this; all I did was sign up to take the test."

"You don't get it," he spat, "With your gifts, you'll be putting yourself in danger. You have _two _kekkei genkais, Hinata, _two_. You have two bloodline limits that anyone would be happy to get their hands on, and becoming an ANBU gets you in more danger of that happening."

"I am already in danger every waking day," she spat back, "I am fully aware of myself, Kakashi, and I am also fully aware that I can use what I have to help the village in any capacity I can! So don't feed me any bullshit, please. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to sleep." She began to turn her back on Kakashi, which was probably her biggest mistake. She knew it as soon as she felt a change in the air surrounding her. She cursed mentally, activating her Byakugan in time to avoid Kakashi's Rasengan. "What the hell?" she yelled out, skidding to a stop a few meters away from Kakashi. "What are you _doing_?"

"I told you to attack me. Apparently, you're incompetent, because you didn't. So I'll do it myself," said Kakashi, his hands moving too fast for her to be able to detect hand signs. He then struck out at her again, sailing a punch down that she had a hard time holding back. She was confused—he'd done hand signs, hadn't he? She then felt a hand wrap around her ankle, and she realized exactly what had happened: he'd made a shadow clone and then his real-self went underground, digging until he was underneath her.

"Shit," she whispered before she found herself flying through the air, having been punched once more by Kakashi. He didn't know how to hold back with her, and for the first time in her life, she was wishing he did. She hit a tree before falling into a crumpled mess on the ground, crying out with pain.

Kakashi came over to her and hoisted her up roughly by the shoulder, ignoring her wince of pain, and grabbed her chin, forcing her to look him in the eye. His eyes were uncommonly empty and hard. "An ANBU has to be ready to get into a fight with anyone and everyone. That included people one might consider to be a comrade. If you can't do that, then you have no business in ANBU." He let go of her shoulder, but kept his grip on her chin. "You're not the kind of person to just harm your friends, Hinata. I strongly suggest that when we get back to the village, you go and get your test voided, regardless of grade."

From that point on, both of them were giving each other the silent treatment. Hinata couldn't even look at him the same way at the moment, finding herself absolutely disgusted by the way he had acted with her. The two moved in terse, awkward, and angry silence; basically doing the best they could to ignore one another.

Of course, upon coming to Kumo, they were met with a bigger problem. From the images that the diplomat had given them, one would've thought that the thieves were nothing more than that: thieves. No, it was much larger than that. In actuality, it appeared that these thieves were actually deeply involved with Kumogakure politics and had an insurmountable amount of funds at their disposal and had many different levels of protection.

In short, they were filthy rich, greedy shinobi politicians who were not at all easy to get to.

Except for one way, that was.

"One of them, Lord Hayato, is having a party tonight," said Kakashi, coming back to the hotel suite after his round of information gathering. Hinata raised an eyebrow at him. "And so we're going to pose as a couple. A _married _couple." Hinata's eyebrow went higher, slightly surprised that they were going that deeply under cover. Kakashi sighed and went over to his bag, pulling out hair dyes and contact lenses. "Since my days as an ANBU, I've been prepared for situations like these. I keep this in case."

"Are we both dyeing our hair?" asked Hinata skeptically.

"Well, yes," said Kakashi, "Me because my hair is a trait of my clan, and you because everyone knows that the Hyūga heiress has blackish-blue hair. Considering the country we're in, I think it best to play it safe and dye your hair and give you contacts." She knew what he was saying. Kumogakure had once made an attempt to kidnap her, and they were the reason Hizashi, her uncle, was dead. She understood Kakashi's reasons fully, but she still didn't want to just _dye _her hair. Hinata moved further towards the wall, pressing against it. She did not want to dye her hair. She loved the color of her hair; she didn't want to lose it at all, not for some mission. Kakashi sighed and grabbed her ankle, pulling the fourteen-year-old girl off of the bed with a screech.

Within a second, she was leaning over the edge of the bathtub with Kakashi's hand on the back of her neck and his body pressed against her back, running cold water from the tap all over her hair. She tried to fight against him, but after a few flicks to her bared legs, she gave up with a pout. "There, done," he said, turning off the water. He sat down on the edge of the tub and forced her to sit between his legs facing the mirror that hung on the wall, pulling on plastic gloves to avoid staining his skin with the dye.

Hinata watched his administrations in the mirror, slightly surprised by the gentle way he applied the artificial coloring to her hair. She thought that someone pissed at her wouldn't hesitate in ripping out a few strands of her hair. But no, he was ceaselessly attentive and thorough, making sure occasionally that the dyes weren't getting in her eyes. "Sit for ten minutes like this," he ordered, tapping her shoulder. "I'm going to start on my own."

She didn't really like the auburn light auburn color he'd picked out for her. It looked good on her skin, but she preferred the color that linked her to her mother. She placed the brown contact lenses onto her eyes, blinking several times in order to get used to the thin lens on her eyeballs. Kakashi finished covering up the scar with make up, and she snickered, forgetting how mad she was at Kakashi in favor of the fact that Kakashi, probably the manliest shinobi she knew, was good with applying make up. He growled at her, knowing exactly what the source of her amusement was. "Shut up," he said, pulling off the mask and showing her his face for the first time. She gaped at him, surprised at how attractive Kakashi really was. He blushed, actually embarrassed by her staring. "Sometimes I forget that you're fourteen now, not twelve," he said, rubbing his now _brown_ hair.

Hinata gulped. She really couldn't get her mind off of how attractive Kakashi was.

"We need to get you a dress," said Kakashi, obviously embarrassed by the amount of attention he was receiving from his student. "We need to get you a dress that makes you look much older than you actually are." He turned around, making the exact wrong decision to change his shirt. As soon as Kakashi's rock hard abdomen and chiseled chest was revealed to Hinata, as well as the rippling of the taut muscles of his back, she turned a brighter red than she'd ever turned before, unable to stop herself from ogling even though she was embarrassed. Kakashi turned to her once he was done dressing, and he smirked. "Nata-chama, your nose is bleeding."

* * *

Hinata was surprised when she managed to reach the rendezvous point before anyone else. She thought, personally, that she had been running very late. She smirked at that—even leaving a village you were so devoted to took careful planning and exact timings. But she had time to sit, she figured, settling down on a rock and allowing herself to go back to her memories.

After Kakashi had told Hinata that her nose had been bleeding, she'd been stunned into silence; walking through town besides a whistling Kakashi. She didn't want to speak because a) if she spoke to Kakashi while his mask was off and he actually responded, all she would hear is not her sensei's voice, but that of a sexy model that she just wanted to tackle to the ground; b) she kind of lost her voice upon seeing Kakashi without his shirt on, so that made point a slightly mute; and c) she wasn't all that sure if she wanted to be on speaking terms with him yet. Sure, he had been pleasant enough to her back at the suite, but she didn't know what to think about that. Maybe he simply forgot for a few brief seconds that he was mad at her. Or maybe he just wanted to prove to her again how unsuited for ANBU she was.

Yes, maybe it was best if she just kept quiet.

Kakashi led her into a fancy dress shop that immediately shocked her. "Kakashi, is this a western-styled party?" she asked, spying the over-exaggerated gowns next to the indescribably shirt mini dresses. She loved western-styled parties, though she had never been to one, for the sheer fact that it was something that didn't happen often in her world. In her world, every party required a kimono. Every. Single. One.

"Yeah," said Kakashi, nodding in affirmative. "I have already acquired a tuxedo." She didn't read too far into his words, not wanting to know what he meant by 'acquired'. She, instead, allowed her attention to be drawn to a beautifully crafted deep blue satin dress, seemingly shimmering in the store's bright lights. Her fingertips drifted across the fabric longingly. Hinata didn't much like fashion shopping, but even she had the good sense to know a beautiful dress when she saw one. She turned to Kakashi, eyes wide. Kakashi smirked. "I guess you like it," he chuckled, "You look like a kid in a candy shop—or more aptly, a bakery."

"Can I get it?" asked Hinata, ignoring the pun he made upon her deep love for cinnamon rolls.

He shrugged. "If it fits."

Thankfully, it actually did fit. It hugged her curves in a way that she hadn't been able to find since. She hugged herself, so excited. "It is _perfect_," she gasped out. It wasn't too long, nor was it too short in Hinata's opinion. And her breasts? They felt like they were sitting in cups from _heaven. _Whatever genius developed the pre-installed bra that was on this dress had done very well. She wanted to hug him. She turned to Kakashi, who was gaping at her this time. She blushed. "Um… Kakashi-sempai?"

"You look like you're in your twenties," he managed to say, leaning forward. She giggled, knowing that he was complimenting her at the moment. He coughed awkwardly. "Umm… if you're comfortable with it, I mean I guess I'll get it for you." She giggled more, playing with the hem of the dress.

"So how are you going to get it? I assume you're not paying for it," she sighed softly, continuing to play with the hem of the dress.

He grinned. "The only reason we're in this shop in particular is because the person who owns it used to be a mole for Konohagakure. Well, technically, he still is." He shrugged. "It's no big deal. Are you uncomfortable with it?"

She smiled softly. "No. Every village probably has, or had at one point or another, a mole from another village. A grocer near my clan's home was a mole of Otogakure, to be completely honest." Kakashi nodded, his smile slipping off of his face slightly. She swallowed and turned, making her way back to the dressing room, knowing that despite how comfortable the dress may very well be, she couldn't wear it out in public.

Besides, a couple of hours from that moment, she'd be wearing it once again.

Being on Kakashi's arm was a much more different experience than Hinata thought that any experience could feel like. It made her feel excited to have someone who looked as good as Kakashi touching her, or even wanting to be near her. Other women looked at her with contempt, and all she could do was smirk shyly at them. Of course, that wasn't to say that no one was staring at the couple for her. Men gaped at her, analyzing her so much that Kakashi seemingly growled under his breath and pulled her along gently. She giggled, even though she was very embarrassed by the attention she had gotten from the men.

"Despite how you look," he'd explained in a whisper, "You're still a fourteen-year-old girl that I've known for your entire life. I'm not going to then just allow these perverts to stare at you like they were." He then put his hand on the small of her back, gently guiding her. She looked back at him, slightly surprised by the actions versus the words before remembering they were guising as a married couple.

The western styled party called for western styled music; the piano's melody so calming and smooth to Hinata's ear that she immediately began to sway. Kakashi put his warm hands on Hinata's hips, pulling her into him softly. "Do you wish to dance?" he asked softly, as if she were the only one in the room with her. She nodded, putting her hand on Kakashi's and pulling away from his body, leading him gently. He turned her into his arms, surprising her slightly. She turned red as his hands went back down to her hips, pressing into her gently as he began to sway side to side in time with the music playing. She giggled.

"Kakashi, this isn't how proper people should dance at a party like this," said Hinata, feeling very forward at the moment. Kakashi raised an eyebrow in question, and so she took it upon herself to fix their positioning. She grabbed at one hand that resided on her hip, holding it in her own, and used her other to get him to tighten his grip on her hip. She then placed her hand on Kakashi's shoulder, holding it as tightly as she could. She blushed lightly. "My mother decided that a proper heiress should know at the very least the proper way to dance with a man."

Kakashi nodded. "Your mother was always a very smart woman," he said, leading them in the dance, "Of course it would be she who would tell you such a thing. After all, it only makes sense."

"You knew my mother very well, Kakashi-sempai?" she asked, suddenly intrigued by the seeming familiarity with which Kakashi spoke of her late mother. He'd never mentioned having any sort of connection with her in the time they had been training. It was absolutely odd to think of this man having any sort of relationship with her mother, whether it is purely work-based or a friendly one. Kakashi just wasn't one for making connections with people, in her mind. _Though, that isn't completely true. He has connections with a lot of people…_ she thought, chastising herself. _And why does it matter? _

"It doesn't matter," said Kakashi gruffly, looking away from her. From the hard set of his jaw, Hinata could tell that the conversation was officially over. She nodded and swallowed, choosing instead to stare at the bowtie of Kakashi's tuxedo. Hinata felt so embarrassed for what she'd said. It was rude and uncalled for, and she thought that Kakashi had the right to be slightly angry with what she'd asked.

"I spot the target by the stairs," said Kakashi suddenly, bringing her out of her thoughts. She began to turn around, but Kakashi stopped her. "Do that and you'll draw attention to the both of us. Do not forget that while he may be a politician, he is a shinobi first. As such, he is taught to search out discrepancies, which would be two unknown people in the same spot staring at him with familiarity."

"You're staring at him with familiarity," she grumbled.

"I can also do it without drawing any sort of attention to myself, Hinata," said Kakashi. His hand dropped from her hip, keeping one hand in hers in order to lead her to what seemed to be a drinks table. He poured her a glass of foamy, bubbly liquid that she couldn't identify. "Champagne," he told her, placing it into her hand. He gave her hand a squeeze as soon as he finished pouring his own glass. "Come."

She allowed herself to be led across the room, through the crowd of dancing men and women; and then seated right besides him in an uncomfortable rigid chair. He put an arm around the back of her chair and leaned over to her, his lips near her ear. She couldn't stop her blush from kicking in. "I saw him talking to another shinobi he has stationed around. I assume you've spotted them all already." She barely nodded. Of course she had. It'd been more than easy.

"There are three at the stairway, and then another five in the shadows by the orchestra. There are twelve in the crowd, from what I saw. And upon entering, I realized that a good percentage of the waiting staff was actually shinobi," said Hinata softly.

He chuckled under his breath, tickling the skin of Hinata's ear. "Very good," he said, "With the Sharingan, I was able to identify that he is going to cast a genjutsu over the crowd. What is going to happen next shall be crucial to our success. Please play along very, very smoothly, do you hear me?"

"Play along with what?" she asked as Kakashi placed his hand on her cheek, turning her face gently in order to get her to face him. He then did something she thought crossed the _entire_ line between a student and a teacher.

He kissed her.

_This is what he wants me to play along with, _she thought as her eyes slid shut to enjoy the kiss. It wasn't like Kankurō's, not even close, but that did not mean to say that this was not, nonetheless, enjoyable. No, where Kankurō's kisses were clumsy; Kakashi's were very skilled, knowing exactly how to please Hinata enough that playing along was not difficult. She began to melt, putting her hand on Kakashi's arm as to ascertain that this was not a dream. Kakashi ran his tongue across Hinata's lips, asking for an entrance, which she was more than happy to give. Kakashi ran his tongue on top of Hinata's, pressing into it a small, ball shaped item before resending back into its own mouth.

_Did he really just go through that much effort just to give me a pill? _Hinata thought upon realizing what it was. _Did he really just give me such thorough kissing in order to slip me a pill? Oh, God… did he just make it a good kiss in order to make me be act a little less surprised and be a better actress? Of all the fucked-up shit he could've pulled… _Hinata grabbed at her champagne, giving Kakashi a small, reserved, shy smile before taking a demure sip, swirling the pill around in her mouth before slamming it back with the drink. Kakashi smiled at her and kissed her hand.

"The pill is laced with chakra needed for anyone to release. It releases the sufficient amount when the taker is threatened with a genjutsu," explained Kakashi, taking a sip of his own champagne. "Before the genjutsu sits in, we need to be out of this room and finding that scroll. Do you hear me?"

"Yes," she responded, nodding in affirmative and taking another sip of the champagne.

* * *

She could see Shikaru, Sasuke, and Naruto approaching now. She gathered her things around her, knowing that as soon as they got to her was the moment they would officially be leaving. She swallowed, feeling such a deep regret and guilt for having to do this, but really; she had no options. No options at all… She decided to force the negative thoughts away, once again going back to her memories.

The situation with the mission got really bad. They did managed to get out of the room without detection, and even made it to a study which had obviously been in use; but not before enemy shinobi descended, capturing the both of them one time. Now Kakashi and Hinata had their hands tied behind their backs, both taking a beating as the lackeys attempted to forced information out of them.

"Dammit, you bitch, just tell us!" yelled out one man, striking Hinata hard enough to cause her to wince in pain, feeling blood drip down her chin from her mouth. There was nothing but blood in her mouth now, but she didn't mind it so much. Compared to the idea of giving away information, this was absolutely nothing. She glared in defiance, her will iron-like. The man got furious to see that look, and he struck at Hinata again, causing her to fall on her back. She groaned out in pain, but did not bother getting up. From this position, without activating her Byakugan, she could see every single enemy shinobi in the room.

_One, two, three… four enemies, the target inclusive,_ she thought, _one woman, three men. None of them have an extremely high chakra level, it seems, so this makes this all the easier… _she made the tiger seal behind her back, channeling her chakra into her fingertips to create strands of chakra. She then made the strands microscopic in order for it to be near invisible to anyone who did not have an ocular kekkei genkai. She connected the strands to two of the four shinobi, feeding her will into their chakra passageways and making them, in affect, her puppets. She'd never thought to do this before with the technique Kankurō had taught her, but now she was sure as hell glad she thought about it.

With a flick of her finger, the two attacked the remaining shinobi, their screams of fear and surprise resounding throughout the room. Hinata continued to move her fingers, knowing she didn't really need to pay attention. She, instead, diverted her attentions to making her slow way over to Kakashi by crawling. She kicked off her high-heeled shoes and placed her feet underneath him, turning him over with some difficulty. She then ran her leg over Kakashi's open hand, hoping he would find and grab the kunai she had strapped to her thigh. Thankfully enough, he did easily, cutting through the rope and then doing the same for her.

She made sure not to kill any of them, instead having them fight until they were all unconscious. Kakashi went over to the target and easily found the scroll they had been looking for. He tossed the scroll to Hinata. "Make sure it's the right one." Hinata nodded, pulling at the end only to find… miniature fireworks? She immediately dropped the scroll with one question on her mind:

What the hell just happened?

Kakashi sighed. "Gai, you went overboard. Again."

Hinata's eyes widened in surprise upon seeing the target lift his head with a nervous smirk on his face, rubbing the back of his neck. "I didn't design it! Lee did!"

"Well, whatever. _Lee_ almost burned my cousin's face off," grumbled a voice that sounded like Neji's. She looked at one of the shinobi she'd taken out, finding him sitting up and cracking his knuckles. "God, would someone please release this damned jutsu? It's getting annoying to talk to her when she looks so confused."

"So pouty," came the slithering, seductive and unmistakable voice of Anko, who was masquerading as a man instead of a woman, putting her hands together in order to release the jutsu, changing the shinobi back into their normal appearances with a puff of smoke. Anko, Gai, Neji, Kurenai appeared, all smiling widely at her. Kakashi rolled his eyes at them, pulling back on his mask and rubbing the foundation off of his face, revealing his scar once again.

"Was this… a test?" asked Hinata, dumbstruck.

Kurenai got up and put her arm around her student's shoulders and gave them a squeeze. "Yes. It was all a big test formed for you."

"Why? For what purpose?" asked Hinata, confused by the lengths they'd gone through.

"Did you really think the ANBU examination would be just a written exam?" asked Anko, snickering. "Nah. Whoever passes the written portion automatically passes onto the final portion, which is the hands-on… which you passed, with flying colors."

Hinata's jaw dropped. "I passed the written exam?" she said, shocked. She honestly didn't think she'd done all that well on it. It'd been harder than anything she'd ever taken in her life, and due to nervousness, she hadn't even really finished it on her own. Of course, upon seeing how much time she had left, she'd immediately resorted to cheating, using her Byakugan to see all the test papers around her, comparing each answer in order to best pick the one that seemed correct.

"The written exam was to see how one would go about getting information in a setting filled with nervousness. We sprayed the entire area with a chemical that made everyone feel nervous and unbalanced. It was to keep anyone from knowing for sure what the right answer was. In nervousness, most people don't think very well, and then they chose to cheat off of one person, and usually they don't copy right. However, you chose to copy off of the entire classroom, actually comparing information; much like a shinobi in the field would compare rumors and gossips and actually make them into usable information," explained Neji. "Then, out in the woods, Kakashi attempted to start a fight with you. Only a real idiot would risk harming their comrade by fighting against them when it is not necessary, as it was in that moment. You then refused to fight.

"You then accepted information about moles in Kumo without bias, justifying it and then moving past it. This shows that you're able to look past the unnecessary and focus on the necessities. Also, it shows how well you can accept information, whether bad or good."

"Then, here, you willingly fell into the roll of well-respected beautiful young wife despite your obvious embarrassments about the situation, playing the roll perfectly, I may add," said Kurenai with a small wink. "You easily adapt to the situation, shown best in the case of a few minutes ago, when you incapacitated us and then freed Kakashi.

"And on the subject of Kakashi, when Kakashi kissed you, you didn't hesitate to play along with it, showing that you have no distrust for your comrades, which is something an operative in ANBU absolutely needs. If there is no trust within an ANBU team, then the system is destroyed. If you hadn't had any trust for Kakashi in that moment and left the both of you out in the open as anomalies, then your test would've been immediately voided, and you would never become an ANBU."

"So… are you saying…" began Hinata.

"Hyūga Hinata," said Anko with a grin, "Welcome to ANBU."

* * *

Hinata gasped upon getting air after swimming underwater for so long. She'd learned to hold her breath, but she hadn't realized how long it would actually feel. She swam over to the bank, pulling herself out of the water and lying down on the grass-covered ground, taking deep, sweet breaths of fresh air with fervor. "Let's take a break," she instructed in between breaths to her comrades. Sasuke nodded at her and told the same to Naruto and Shikaru as she once again allowed herself to go back into her memories.

The group of them started back for Konohagakure together, seeing no point to travel as two separate entities now that Hinata had found out about the true nature of the mission. She watched as everyone else went off to sleep besides herself and Kakashi, who stabbed at the fire with a stick, reminding her of a night not so long ago. _Is he mad at me again? _Hinata wondered, biting her lip and looking down at her knees.

"I did know her," said Kakashi finally, confusing Hinata. "Your mother, I mean. I mean I knew your mother." Hinata sat forwards, intrigued. "She was a part of my ANBU troop." Hinata's eyes widened. Her mother, an ANBU op? "She was in ROOT for some time as a kid, when the people at the Academy realized she was too powerful for them to think about teaching. That made her prime-time ANBU picking material, and they automatically placed a shinobi like her with me, the renowned Copy Ninja Kakashi." Kakashi smiled behind her mask, she could tell. "Your mother was always very kind, unlike most kids who came out of ROOT. Then again, unlike those kids, when she was released from Danzo's hands, she went straight back to her family. She wasn't alone like any of them. She believed in friendship when joining a team. She always said that it would never work without it."

"Why haven't you ever told me about this?" asked Hinata.

He sighed. "She asked me not to." He looked away from her. "She resigned from ANBU in the middle of her second trimester, I believe. She was going out of duty for a while, but one day she walked into headquarters with her resignation papers. I tried to convince her not to, but all she did was smile and say, 'Dog, don't be stupid. I'm going to be a mother. This is the only logical thing to do. Now, are you going to meet me for tea on Thursday at noon or not?' Your mother was very stubborn, which must've rubbed off on you. You have two very stubborn parents; I'm surprised you're not worse than you are, actually." He closed his eyes and chuckled. "She also told me that she had the feeling that you would be very different. Different how, she didn't know, but different. She told me that she didn't want you to join ANBU if I could help it. She didn't want you to put your life at risk."

"Is that why you were mad at me?" she asked shyly, looking away.

"I wasn't mad at you. I was mad at myself," he admitted with a sigh. "It seems I have a penchant for breaking my promises to people I care about. You went off and joined, and I didn't even get a chance to even give an opinion to you. Your mother was the exact same way, so I shouldn't be surprised that you did it. It was just very sudden, and I just wished I could've realized it and stopped you before you went ahead with it." Hinata nodded, understanding finally why he had acted the way he had. He was concerned, that was all, he was concerned about her.

Kakashi got up, grabbing her arm and pulling her up softly, leading her to their shared tent. He let her go so she could sit down on top of her rolled-up sleeping bag, watching him intently as he went through his things. He surprised her by pulling ANBU clothing out of his bag, placing it in front of her. "I don't agree with the choice you've made, honestly, but I will respect it for your sakes," he said, patting her cheek softly. "You're not an idiot and you will keep yourself safe, I know it. But" he held up his finger in her face, "I will only give you my consent on two conditions. One is that you do not fight me when I go to the ANBU headquarters with you when we get back to Konoha and I put in my papers to make me into an active agent once more." Hinata nodded, smiling at the idea of being on a team with her mentor. Kakashi nodded and got up, going over to his own stretched out sleeping bag and pulling out what appeared to be a sheathed sword. She gaped at it, shocked.

"Two is that you take this katana and keep it with you at all times, even if you don't use it," he said, coming back over to her and pressing the katana's hilt into her soft hands. "It was your mother's. And, even though I don't believe in good or bad luck, per say, I think it would be good luck if you were to have it." Hinata gasped out in surprise, stunned that Kakashi would bestow such a gift upon her from such an important person. "She gave it to me after she gave birth to you. She said that she didn't need a rusty old blade anymore. But, I figure you might. It's fully restored now."

"C-Can I?" asked Hinata softly, putting one hand on the hilt and the other on the sheathe. He nodded, his eye reassuring her gently. She held her breath as she pulled out the blade, marveling in its simple beauty. It was just like her mother in every way. Her hands stroked the small inscription on the muddle of the blade, feeling the Kanji under her fingertips. She smiled weakly. "M-My mother's katana's name was Hanabi?" she asked, looking up at the silver-haired shinobi with teary eyes. Kakashi nodded gently, watching her. She carefully encased the sword once more, making sure not to injure herself. She went into her back pouch and pulled out tight wire, wrapping it around the blade and tying it to her belt. She wanted to wear the memento right away rather than wait. Despite her discomfort about closeness to people, Hinata pulled her teacher into a tight hug, surprising him. "T-Thank y-you, K-Kakashi-sempai!" she stuttered out, unable to stop herself. "T-Thank y-you so m-much!"

His arms softly wrapped around her. "No problem, Nata-chama," he said in a tight voice that let Hinata know for sure that he wasn't an emotionless brick who could only feel things like anger and laziness. No, he was a fully operational human being who knew what this moment was.

Pure happiness, and also at the same time, pure sadness.

* * *

Hinata stroked the hilt of the blade softly before cutting into the wood of the tree, making careful incisions before finding it satisfactory and pulling back, smiling lightly as she put Hanabi back into its cover. She cleaned up her cuts, not caring if splinters went into her fingertips.

She would endure a thousand splinters. No, a million; no—an infinite amount. She would endure an infinite amount of pain if it meant that no one would just give up. That had been the lesson she'd learned upon becoming an ANBU really: just to have faith in a person, and to have that same faith reciprocated. She hoped that her fellow shinobi from Konoha would track them, and would find them. After all, it wasn't impossible. No, not at all.

_Please, have faith, _she thought, kissing the cut wood softly before walking towards her group, signaling to them that they could move out once more. She shut her eyes as tears began to drip down her face. _Have faith in me. I won't give up if you guys don't give up on me; on us. Just have faith. _"Have faith in me," she whispered into the night, fixing her ANBU clothes on herself so she would fade into the darkness with nothing but a small echo to tell people that she had once been there.

_**End.**_


End file.
